Ode to BD and BK
by XmandaXpandaX
Summary: This is my rendition of the Series finale episode, "Ode to Joy". It was originally intended to be a oneshot, but I decided to continue it a bit farther. Warning, it's mushy. ;- B/D, B/K pairings.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: As I was watching the series finale on soapnet yesterday, I got the idea to rewrite that episode the way I thought it should have been done. This story injects Brenda and Brandon back into the finale, and wraps things up the way I think they should have been wrapped up. For now, this is a one shot, but I'm contemplating continuing it. I think it depends on people's reactions to it, and how bad my writer's block gets on "There goes my life". Enjoy! And don't forget to review. ;-)  
_

Mrs. Teasley stood in the living room, ladling out punch to some of the girls at Donna's bachelorette party. "I hope my punch isn't too strong. My secret ingredient is a shot of peach schnapps."

"Oh, one shot, Yay!" Kelly giggled as she took a glass of punch over to Donna.

"Ok, the fondue pot is lit, so while we're waiting, let's play 'toilet paper bride'!" Felice offered, shaking three rolls of toilet paper in her hands.

"Oh, we did that at my bachelorette party!" Jackie exclaimed.

Kelly put on a fake smile. "Why do I feel like I just stepped back into 1965?" She questioned, taking a sip of Donna's punch as Andrea appeared in the room.

"Speaking of going back in time…" Andrea waved a video tape in her hands. "A blast from the past." She continued as she placed the tape in the VCR. "Kill the music."

Brandon's face appeared on the television screen. "Hey Donna! I'm sorry I can't be there for your wedding so I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you. You and David were meant for each other. Smart guy, David. He chased you until you caught him. Congratulations, baby! And give my love to Kelly!"

Kelly grinned a little bit. "Is it just me, or is he still disgustingly cute?"

As the tape finished, the girls began to make their toilet paper wedding gowns when the doorbell rang. Donna walked over to the door, revealing first Valerie, who Donna quickly enveloped in a big hug. Beyond Val, however, she caught a glimpse of none other than Brenda Walsh. Donna's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Brenda!" Donna's face lit up. "I had no idea you were coming!!" She exclaimed as she squeezed her up into a tight bear hug.

"Up until two days ago, neither did I. My understudy was supposed to be going away, so I wasn't going to be able to make it." Brenda began. "But she had a last minute change of plans, which, fortunately for me, allowed me to catch a flight."

Donna could hardly contain her excitement. "And I'm SO glad for that. It wouldn't have been the same without at least one Walsh twin here."

"Well, I'm sure Brandon is heartbroken that he couldn't make it out here." Brenda said with a mischievous glimmer in her eye.

Val interrupted by handing over a box wrapped with a big bow on top. "I had to hand deliver my wedding present."

Donna examined the package that had just been given to her. "Oh, a box of condoms?"

"Yeah, I didn't think you registered for that" Val joked as she shut the door behind herself. She put an arm over Donna and the other over Brenda as she caught sight of the toilet paper gown making going on in the living room. "Oh. It looks like we got here just in time." She said, flashing her trademark 'up to no good' grin. "What is going on?"

~*~*~

Muntz was lying back in a chair as Noah poured liquor into his mouth. "Muntz! It's David's bachelor party, not yours!" Steve half scolded, picking his drunken friend up and helping him over to the couch.

"Ooh!" Dylan passed his beer off to Muntz. "Somebody light a match." He stood up, grabbing a video tape off of the table. "I'll tell you what." Dylan flashed the tape to the group of guys. "The _real_ entertainment of the evening." He popped the tape in.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" David questioned from the couch.

Brandon's face again appeared on the screen. "Hey guys! Sorry I can't be there for the party or David's wedding, so have a couple for me. But don't let David drink, we don't want a hung over groom. David, you & Donna make the perfect couple. I remember the first time you kissed… The first time you slept... Okay, forget that… Dylan, Steve, David.. I really miss you guys"

"I miss you too." Steve said, obviously feeling sentimental. "In any ever, I had a little time this morning," Steve said as he pulled a folded up piece of paper from his back pocket "So I thought maybe I'd write a little poem for this occasion." It's entitled "Ode to Silver". The boys passed around a poem that Steve had written about David's past girlfriends, each of them reciting a line or two.

Just as they finished, the doorbell rang. Steve opened it to find Brandon standing on the front porch of Casa Walsh.

"Brandon!" He screeched. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, a certain sister of mine convinced me that I couldn't miss a wedding 10 years in the making." Brandon admitted, stepping into the living room and joining the rest of the guys.

"Hey! B!" Dylan greeted his friend with a handshake and pulled him in to a half hug. "I just showed your tape. When did you decide to come?"

Brandon smiled sheepishly. "Brenda convinced me last night." He answered. "Actually, you could almost call it 'guilt tripping'. But I'm so glad that she did."

Dylan's face brightened up a bit. "Brenda did, huh? Does that mean she decided to make a trip across the Atlantic, as well?" the hope obvious in his voice.

"Yup. She and Val are crashing the bachelorette party as we speak." Brandon felt relief wash over him at Dylan's reaction to his sister's name. If he were excited about seeing Brenda, then that must mean that he isn't seeing Kelly, Brandon reasoned in his head.

"I'll have to meet up with her while she's here. I've missed her." Dylan admitted.

"Yeah. I have a feeling that she's feeling the same way. Remind me to give you her cell number before I leave tonight." Brandon answered, accepting the beer that Steve had gotten for him. He looked around the room. "What? No entertainment? What kind of a bachelor party is this?" With that, the doorbell rang again.

~*~*~

Kelly looked up from her seat on the sofa. A look of happiness spread across her face, followed quickly by one of confusion and disappointment. On one hand, she was beyond happy for Donna that Brenda, one of their closest friends, could be here for her wedding. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel threatened by Brenda's presence in Beverly Hills now that she and Dylan were somewhat together. She quickly pasted a smile on her face and welcomed her old friend.

"Bren! It's been a long time. How are things?" Kelly made small talk.

"Things are fantastic! My current play is getting rave reviews in all the papers, and I'm finally getting my life together." Brenda stated with a sense of pride.

"That's amazing!" Kelly felt a sense of relief washing over her, as she assumed that Brenda would be heading back to her 'fantastic' life in London shortly. " How long are you staying for?"

"Well, I have to go back at the end of next week to finish up this play." Brenda began. "But I got an offer to do a movie that'll be shooting here in LA in August, so I'll probably be coming back for at least a little while when the play wraps up in mid June."

"Really?" Donna squealed. "Oh, it'll be so much fun!"

"Yeah! It'll be just like old times." Kelly agreed with badly faked enthusiasm. '_Just like old times…' _She thought to herself, '_Hopefully not.' _as she tried to push the thoughts of the Brenda/Dylan/Kelly mess from their past out of her head.

~*~*~

Dylan stepped up to read the poem that he had chosen to read for David and Donna. "A good marriage." He began, noticing Brenda's face in the crowd. "Is one in which each partner appoints the other to be the guardian of his solitude." He couldn't take his eyes off of her. "And Thus, they show each other the greatest possible trust. Once we accept that even between the closest people, infinite distances exist, a marvelous living, side by side, can grow up for them if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of always seeing each other as a whole, and before an immense sky."

Kelly followed Dylan's glance as she fought the tears from falling from her eyes. How could she be so naïve? She had admitted to herself long ago that she was not the one for Dylan. Hell, she had even told Brenda at one point that she knew that Brenda was the love of Dylan's life, but yet she allowed herself to get swept up by him, yet again. And here she stood, watching him subconsciously profess his never ending love for Brenda. She struggled out a smile at David and Donna as she made her way to the podium for her reading.

She looked up into the crowd briefly before directing her attention back to the bride and groom. "I could never find the words to describe the incredible way you two love each other, but I think this comes close." She gazed back into the faces of the guests, avoiding Brenda's stare. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." She paused and couldn't help but look toward Brenda, wondering why it was that Dylan always seemed to gravitate to her. She wasn't prepared for the person sitting beside Brenda, though. His smile seemed to reach deep inside of her, tearing the anger about Dylan's love for Brenda out of her mind. Suddenly, she realized why her other relationships always seemed to fall apart. The same unresolved feelings that she had gotten angry about Dylan harboring toward Brenda, she still held for Brandon. She gave him a warm smile. "I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach when feeling out of sight. For ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee freely as men strive for right. I love thee purely as they turn from praise. I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears of all my life. And if God choose, I shall love thee better after death."

The rest of the ceremony seemed to go by in a blur to her and she couldn't take her eyes away from Brandon. Every once in a while, he would look away from the center of the alter, and she'd shift her gaze away from him in an attempt to avoid being caught staring.

~*~*~

The pictures seemed to drag on forever as the photographer arranged Donna, David, Kelly, Dylan, Janet & Steve in various configurations in a million different places. As they finally made their way to the Hilton where the guests were waiting for them, Dylan pulled Kelly aside.

"Hey. Can we talk for a minute." He asked as the others entered the building.

"Yeah. Sure." Kelly answered somewhat distractedly.

"What are we doing, Kel?" He asked after a long awkward pause between them.

"I'm not sure." She answered truthfully. "I guess I just knew that I shouldn't be marrying Matt, and I was looking for a way out. But honestly, we both know that this won't last. It never does." She looked down at her feet. Dylan took a deep breath, nodding in agreement.

"So, I guess this is it?" He swung his arms out to the side, clapping his hands against his thighs.

Kelly looked up at him with a smile. "Romantically? Yeah." She whispered. "But you know that you're always going to be one of my best friends, right?" She blinked back a few tears.

Dylan wrapped her in a hug "Of course." He answered, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Now go find Brandon." He instructed with a smile as he pulled away, nodding to the door. He watched her enter the building, and stood outside for a few moments, staring up at the sky. Memories of Brenda Walsh filled up his head and his smile grew larger. Taking a deep breath, he made his way in, hoping that he could convince the love of his life to take him back, one more time.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Due to overwhelming requests to continue this fanfic, I've finally gotten around to posting a second chapter. I'm not sure how many chapters I'll be taking this story to, but I have a good idea of the ending. I guess I'll kind of take the middle as it comes to me. Which I guess, in a sense, is good for you guys because it means that I'm easily influenced as far as storyline requests go, so long as it doesn't destroy my vision for the final few chapters.. ;-) **WARNING: This one's incredibly mushy. But I needed it to be. Let me know what you think.**_

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The wedding guests chanted as they all tapped the sides of their champagne glasses with forks and knives.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like high school all over again watching them?" Brandon leaned over and asked.

"It's just you." Brenda quickly answered, followed by a nervous laugh to try to hide her hasty comment. "I know what you mean, though. It's about time the two of them got it together." She continued, trying desperately to peel her eyes away from Kelly and Dylan sitting beside one another at the head table, but failing miserably. Brandon followed her gaze, but decided against commenting. If the sight of Kelly and Dylan together bothered Brenda nearly as much as it bothered him, nothing he could say would make her feel better about it, anyway.

Almost as if he could sense the need to break the tension, Steve rose from his seat beside Janet, grabbing the microphone off of the table In front of him. "Hi everyone!" He began, "I'm Steve, I think I speak for everyone when I say _It's about time_!" He grinned as everyone began clapping again. "You know, the only good that came out of you two waiting so long is that it gave us the chance to find the perfect artists and the perfect song for your long awaited first dance." He paused. "David, Donna, if you would" He gestured to the dance floor as the newlyweds got up from their seats. "And now, I'd like to introduce, super recording artists, Eric Benet and Tamia singing 'Spend My Life With You'."

~*~*~

As the couple wrapped up their first dance, the band invited the wedding party to the dance floor to join them. Kelly looked at Dylan nervously and he gave her a reassuring smile as he took her hand and led her out to the floor.

"I don't want Brandon, or Brenda for that matter, to get the wrong idea." She mumbled as they swayed back and forth to the music.

"Don't worry about it. I've got a plan." Dylan flashed a quick smile as the rest of the guests were invited by the band to join the wedding party on the floor. A few at a time, the guests paired up and made their way out to the dance floor. Brenda, Brandon, and Andrea looked at one another uncomfortably.

"You two go ahead. I need to use the restroom anyway." Brenda offered as she rose to her feet. At about this time, David and Donna split up and began to mingle/dance with their wedding guests. David cut in on Steve and Janet, causing Steve to cut in on Brandon and Andrea, in turn, leaving Brandon to steal Val from the dance she was sharing with Noah. By the time all was said and done, David got to Dylan and Kelly to request a dance with his step sister at almost exactly the time that Brenda passed by en route to the restroom. Dylan caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye and stepped backward, causing the two to collide.

"Oh, sorry." Dylan spoke nonchalantly as he turned around. "Bren.." He acted surprised to see her.

"Hey." She offered, looking back down "Sorry, I was just on my way to the restroom. I guess I should watch where I'm going." She quickly tried to excuse herself. She had definitely underestimated how difficult it would be to see him again.

"You…" Dylan couldn't tear his eyes off of her. "You look amazing." He concluded.

Brenda blushed a bit. "Thanks." she murmured. "You don't look so bad yourself… Much better than the last time I saw you." She spoke without thinking. A look of embarrassment flooded Dylan's eyes.

"Yeah. I was in pretty rough shape when I left London, huh?"

"I'd say that rough is an understatement." Brenda stated quietly, directing her attention back to the restroom and hoping that Dylan would catch her glance and excuse himself from the uncomfortable conversation.

"Look, Bren. I'm really sorry about all of that. I was a wreck after what happened to Antonia. I came to you because you were the only other person in my life that could always make me feel like everything would be okay. No matter what kind of crazy circumstances surrounded us." Dylan poured out.

"I know." Brenda wiped a tear from her eye. "But I failed you this last time." She thought back on how their relationship began to fall apart and how it coincided with the beginning of Dylan's drug use. Dylan shook his head in disagreement.

"Brenda, you did not fail me. If anything, I failed you. I just couldn't cope with it at that point in time. And I was selfish to drag you into it. I'm sorry. Please forgive me" He looked deep into her eyes hoping that she would understand just how much he needed her forgiveness.

She let out a deep breath. "You were forgiven a long time ago, Dylan." After pausing to collect her thoughts, Brenda concluded, "You know I can never stay mad at you for very long. I was a fool to think that you were ready to jump into another relationship so soon after Antonia…" She drifted off.

"Passed away?" Dylan finished. "I can say it now." He continued. "Amazing, huh?" Brenda nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's been rough, but after a bunch of drama, I finally got myself some help. I've been clean for about a year now."

Brenda forced out a "Good. I'm happy for you." and excused herself to the restroom. She pushed a stall door open, locking it behind her before the tears came streaming down her face. She tried to figure out why she was so upset to hear that Dylan was doing so well, and began to cry even harder when she realized that she was upset because he could clean up his act for Kelly, but wasn't able to get it together for her. She buried her face in her hands and allowed the feeling of defeat to wash over her.

~*~*~

"I can't believe that you're married!" Kelly gushed to David as they danced. "A few months ago, you weren't even dating! I mean, talk about moving fast!" David raised an eyebrow at her and started laughing. "Ok, well, fast and slow at the same time, I guess."

"Well, when you know what you want, you need to just go for it." David defended.

"Yeah, I guess so." Kelly looked across the room and Brandon and Andrea dancing and laughing together. David followed her gaze and gave her a knowing grin.

"Go talk to him." David urged.

"Yeah. I'm going to. I need to go to the restroom first and check out my hair and make-up, maybe throw up from the nerves…" She half joked as she gave David a hug and made her way off of the dance floor. She walked over to the restrooms and pushed the door to the ladies room open, letting out a sigh as she fished through her purse for her lipstick and checked on her hair in the mirror. As she was touching up, she heard a stifled sob come from one of the bathroom stalls. "Hello?" She asked. "You ok in there?"

Brenda's eyes got wide as she recognized the voice that was on the other side of the door. '_crap, crap, crap_' She thought to herself. "Yeah, I'm fine." She attempted to keep it short and sweet to avoid being found out.

"Brenda? Is that you?" Kelly asked, now worried about her old best friend.

'_Damn it._' Brenda thought as she wiped her eyes and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to compose herself. "Yeah." She answered, finally opening the stall door, revealing red, puffy eyes and mascara stained cheeks.

Kelly looked Brenda up and down and bit her lip. "What happened?" She inquired, though she was relatively certain that it had something to do with Dylan McKay.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Just got some bad news about a play I was hoping to get after the movie that I'm shooting this summer finishes." Brenda lied through her teeth, turning on the cold water in the sink and splashing it on her face.

"Oh." Kelly mustered up her courage. "So this has nothing to do with the conversation you just had with Dylan?" Kelly asked as innocently as she could.

"No, I know that the two of you are seeing one another, Kelly. And quite frankly, I'm not interested in this triangle mess anymore." Brenda spat more harshly than she had intended, looking up at Kelly in the mirror. Brenda turned to face Kelly and the two just stared at each other for a few seconds. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way it came out."

Kelly took a deep breath. "No. It's ok." She assured Brenda. "In fact, Dylan and I aren't even dating. We were talking about trying to work things out after I broke off my engagement to Matt. But when you and Brandon returned to town, we both realized, _again, _that we're not meant for one another."

"Kel, maybe you're wrong." Brenda began to sob again. "I can't help him like you can."

"What are you talking about?" Kelly gave Brenda a puzzled look.

"The drug thing." Brenda stated simply. "I couldn't get him to stop. He came back here to you, and *bam*. Kicks the habit. Like it's nothing." She looked pitiful. "He needs someone that can keep him on the straight and narrow like that."

Kelly raised both hands up in front of her. "Hey, that was certainly not for me. He nearly killed Donna before he finally agreed to get help… In fact, I didn't even know that he was using right away." She admitted sheepishly. "I've told you before and I'll tell you again. Brenda, you will always be the one that he looks back on as the great love of his life. And I think that the same is true for you. You both deserve to not have to look back on it and wonder what may have been if alcohol, or drugs… or Kelly Taylor…" She laughed half heartedly "didn't get in between you. Honestly, you're the only one I think he _would _stay clean for. He needs you, Bren." She paused and looked at Brenda. "Dylan and I… We make great friends. But we are toxic for each other in the romantic sense. I think we're both finally realizing that."

"Kel, I don't know. I am not sure I can go around and around with him anymore."

Kelly took a step in toward Brenda and wrapped her up in a hug. "I can respect that. Believe me, I can. But you two still need to talk." Kelly looked at her watch. "And speaking of talking, I need to get my butt out there. I have a speech that I need to make." Kelly wrinkled her nose up at the thought of public speaking. Brenda let out a small laugh and shooed Kelly toward the door.

"Go" She urged. "I'll be out once I get myself together."

~*~*~

"Try as he might to forget it, back in high school, David was not Mr. Popularity. I, on the other hand, defined cool." Kelly paused and made eye contact with David who let a laugh escape his lips. "So, as you can imagine, I was, how should I say this? Hmm… appalled? At the thought of him becoming my step-brother. But, shock of shocks, he turned out to be pretty great. Over the years, he has been caring, and thoughtful. And tonight, he has given me something for which I will forever be grateful. He has managed to turn my best friend into my sister. Cheers." Kelly finished, raising her glass up, and giving Donna a quick kiss on the cheek, then excusing herself from the table as the band started back up. Scanning the room quickly, she spotted Brandon standing at the bar and made her way across the room to him.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey." Brandon looked down into his drink. "You look nice."

Kelly smiled shyly. "Thanks. You still clean up pretty well yourself." She commented, pulling on the lapel of his jacket gently. "It's been a while, huh?" She shifted her weight uncomfortably.

Brandon looked up into her eyes, "Yeah, it has." He paused for a few moments. "You know, I spent weeks waiting for you to call and tell me to come back." Brandon leaned back against the bar, taking a sip of his drink. "I didn't even unpack my bags for the longest time. I think I knew somewhere deep down that if you asked me to, I'd have given up that job and been in the car in minutes." He stirred the drink thoughtfully. "You never called, though." He finally looked back up at her. "And I was too chicken to pick up the phone myself."

"I had no idea."

"No, I guess I didn't give you any reason to think that, did I?" Brandon sighed, looking away distractedly. The two remained silent for a minute before saying each other's names in unison. "Go ahead." Brandon prompted.

Kelly took a second to gather her courage. "Remember when I told you that I had no regrets?" Brandon nodded, encouraging her to continue. "Well, that's not exactly true… The truth of the matter is I have tons. The biggest one being the day I agreed not to marry you." Kelly picked at the edge of the bar top with her finger. She drew her attention up the Brandon's eyes before continuing. "That was the biggest mistake of my life, you know?" Brandon nodded in agreement.

"Mine too." He whispered. "Dance with me?" He asked, his eyes filled with a pleading look.

"Why, Mr. Walsh, I thought you didn't dance?" Kelly joked, fully aware of the dances that they'd shared in the past, despite Brandon's hatred of dancing.

"I'd do anything for you." He answered genuinely. "Including dancing. And it's always been that way, Kel." He took her hand and led her out to the dance floor.


	3. Chapter 3

_So, This story is pulling at me right now, and I'm kind of not really feeling TGML at the moment, so I'm posting another chap to this one. I may end up putting TGML on hold for a bit until I can get a chance to re-watch season 5 and get some inspiration. I think it's about the only season I don't know much about, as it's when I stopped watching the show originally, and well, I seem to keep missing that season in reruns (I'm not sure if it's subconsciously on purpose or not). Maybe I'm just feeling this story a bit more right now because S10 is fresh in my head from Soapnet reruns. Either way, this is where the inspiration is at right now, so I'm going with it. Also, I do realize that the song I chose ('Let's be us Again' by Lonestar, for the curious) didn't come out until 2004, but meh. It fit so well that we can pretend it came out in 2000, right? Enjoy! And don't forget to review. I heart reviews._

As everyone was finishing up their dinner, Brenda watched Dylan stand up from his seat and make his way toward the singer of the band. After a few minutes of conversation and a couple of head nods and shakes, Dylan made his way back to the head table with a smug look of accomplishment on his face. Brenda tried to figure out what he could possibly be up to, but gave up on trying to figure him out, turning her attention back to the plate of food that she had barely touched. She pushed her chicken around a bit more with her fork until Brandon's voice interrupted her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He offered.

Brenda groaned dramatically. "I think you'd need an entire piggybank full… And about three days worth of time to listen."

Brandon looked up at his twin. "That bad, huh?"

"I'm just so… confused and worried… and stressed out." She admitted glumly.

"Does this have something to do with a certain high school love of yours sitting up in that general direction?" Brandon gestured to the head table with a nod of his head.

"Am I really that obvious?" Brenda smiled halfheartedly.

"Bren, just go talk to him. You never know what he'll have to say unless you talk to him." He urged, as he noticed Dylan get up from his seat and make his way through the crowded room. "Actually, don't look now, but I don't think you're going to have to go to him. Looks like he's coming to you." With that, Brandon excused himself from the table and went to speak with Kelly.

Brenda felt herself nearly hyperventilate and her hands begin to sweat. She tried in vain to take a few deep breaths to calm herself before he got to the table. Suddenly, she felt his hand on her shoulder, causing her heart to feel as though it was going to jump out of her chest.

"Hey." He greeted. His raspy voice mixed with the feeling of his touch on the bare skin on her shoulder creating goose bumps up and down her arms.

"Hey." She went back to pushing the food around on her plate.

"Mind if I sit down?" He asked, taking notice of Brandon's now vacant seat.

"Not at all." She followed Dylan's gaze as it shifted to the stage where the band was setting up to go back on.

"Actually…" He shifted his weight nervously, "Do you want to dance?"

"Yeah," She smiled up at him, some of the tension dissipating from her body. "I'd like that." She added, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her out onto the dance floor. Just as they got there, the singer took the microphone and the background music from dinner began to fade.

"So, this isn't a typical song for a wedding play list," he began unsurely, "but we had a special request, and well… weddings bring out the sucker for romance in me, so here goes." He winked at Dylan as the band started playing behind him.

Brenda caught the wink and looked at Dylan accusingly. "What did you do, McKay?"

Dylan refused to answer and just gave her a wicked smile, wrapping his arms around her and swaying to the beat.

_**Tell me what I have to do tonight**_

_**Cause I'd do anything to make it right**_

_**Let's be us again**_

_**I'm sorry for the way I lost my head**_

_**I don't know why I said the things I said**_

_**Let's be us again**_

_**Here I stand**_

_**With everything to lose**_

_**All I know is I don't want to ever see the end**_

_**Baby please, I'm reaching out for you**_

_**Won't you open up your heart and let me come back in**_

_**Let's be us again**_

_**Ooooohhh us again**_

_**Look at me I'm way past pride**_

_**Isn't there some way that we can try**_

_**To be us again**_

_**Even if it takes a while**_

_**I'll wait right here to see that smile**_

_**That says we're us again**_

_**Here I stand**_

_**With everything to lose**_

_**All I know is I don't want to ever see the end**_

_**Baby please, I'm reaching out for you**_

_**Won't you open up your heart and let me come back in**_

_**Let's be uuuussssssss **_

_**Oh-whoah**_

_**Baby baby, what would I do**_

_**I can't imagine life without you**_

_**Here I stand**_

_**With everything to lose**_

_**All I know is I don't want to ever see the eeeeeennnd**_

_**Baby please, I'm reaching out for you**_

_**Won't you open up your heart and let me come back in**_

_**Oooohhh here I am**_

_**I'm reaching out for you**_

_**So won't you open up your heart and let me come back in**_

_**Let's be us again, **_

_**Oooohhh let's be us again.**_

By the end of the song, tears were streaming down Brenda's face again, and she hardly noticed that they had gathered the attention of nearly everyone in the room. When she finally realized that all eyes were on the two of them, she buried her face in Dylan's chest, wishing that she could make herself invisible. He pulled her in tightly with his left hand as he cupped his right hand against the back of her head, stroking her silky brown hair.

"Would you like to step outside for some air?" He whispered gently into her ear.

She nodded without removing her head from his chest and the two made their way out to the patio.

~*~*~

"Well, that was…" Kelly drifted off as she and Brandon slowly shifted their weight to the music. "Emotional." She concluded.

"Yeah. Those two are dynamic, if nothing else." Brandon mumbled as he watched his sister and Dylan walk outside.

Kelly nodded thoughtfully. "It works for them, though. Ya know?" She continued, "The dramatics, that is."

Brandon looked at her with mock hurt on his face. "Are you calling us boring, Kelly Taylor?"

"No, not boring." She giggled, recalling the dining room table sex that ensued the last time they felt the need to 'spice things up' in their relationship. "Just not so 'high school' as the two of them can be at times."

"Anyway," Brandon spoke up, "Enough about them. What about us?"

"What _about _us, Brandon?" She flirted, playing with some of the hairs on the back of his neck.

Brandon felt a tingle encompass his body at the sensation of her fingers on his neck. He took a deep breath, taking in the scent of her fruity perfume. "Kel, I'm moving back to LA." Brandon exhaled. Kelly froze and looked up into his eyes.

"Really? When?" She probed cautiously.

"Actually, my stuff is on its way here as we speak. I resigned from the chronicle and accepted a position at the LA Times. I start Monday." He replied casually.

Kelly's blue eyes lit up brightly. "Really? That's fantastic! What made you decide to come back?"

"I missed you. I missed us." Brandon ran the knuckle of his index finger along her cheek, before resting the curled digit under her chin. "I finally got the courage to admit that we made a mistake two years ago." He admitted, using his finger to draw her chin upward gently as he leaned in and kissed her tenderly. Kelly allowed her lips to linger for a split second after the kiss ended. "I want a chance to fix it, Kel." he whispered softly.

"So do I." She murmured as the two began to dance again.

~*~*~

Brenda took a deep breath of the cool night air and leaned against the wall outside of the reception. She felt dizzy and nauseous, and she wanted nothing more than a strong drink to ease her nerves. Dylan sensed the tension in her body and walked up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and resting his chin on the top of her head as they both looked out at nothing in particular. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms a few times reassuringly before speaking.

"I've missed you, Brenda." He confessed, the smell of her shampoo bringing memories flooding back into his head. She remained silent, but after a few seconds he felt her begin to tremble. He gently turned her around, revealing the fact that she had started to cry again. "What's wrong?" He prompted.

"I can't do this right now, Dylan. I just…" She paused.

"You just what?"

Brenda looked up at him longingly and wiped at her tears "I can't deal with all of the theatrics right now." She laughed a little bit of the irony of what she was saying, given her chosen profession. "I'm sick of being 'Brenda, the Drama queen'… And what just happened in there… Taking the spotlight off of the bride and groom… Is not what I came here to do." She sighed. "I just want everyone to realize that I'm not the same person I was six years ago."

"And by trying to pretend that there's nothing between us anymore, you're going to accomplish that?" Dylan spat somewhat angrily.

"It's a start…" She took her eyes off of him and looked up at the sky. "You left me once for another woman, and I waited years and years for you to come back to me, Dylan. And then, when you finally did, you left me for heroin… I just can't keep waiting around in the hope that you'll eventually commit to me." She pushed up to her tiptoes, kissing him slowly on the cheek. "Goodbye Dylan." She whispered as she walked back into the reception.

~*~*~

"Okay, It's that time! I need all of the unmarried ladies to come up to the dance floor, please!" The singer announced, causing some ladies to wander up willingly, while others had to nearly be shoved out of their seats by those sitting around them. Once they had gotten everyone up there, Donna turned around, and tossed her bouquet into the crowd of women, creating a bit of a ruckus. As the scene calmed down, Kelly raised the flowers over her head victoriously, a huge smile adorning her face. She made her way back over to Brandon waving them triumphantly.

"Pretty flowers." He commented with a smile.

"Yeah, they are." She picked at some of the petals.

"You know what it means, right?" Brandon hinted.

"Yeah, yeah. We already tried that. Twice to be exact." She retorted playfully.

"Well, you know… Third time's a charm." He replied with a wink.

_Ok, so yeah… I know you're all mad about B/D, but I can't have them forget about everything that has happened between them and get back together the first time they see each other. Their relationship was always more explosive than that. Plus… I like them the most (shhh.), so I feel the need to torture them a bit. I promise it's going to be B/D eventually though. Stick with me. _


	4. Chapter 4

Kelly stood outside the doors of the Hilton, passing out the small tulle bags filled with rice, unable to wipe the goofy grin off of her face. Why was it that Brandon had the ability to make her feel like a giddy little school girl? As the last few guests took their rice and assembled around the walkway, she set the basket that she was holding down, taking a bag of rice for herself and found Brandon in the crowd.

"Don't they say that this stuff is bad for the birds?" Brandon questioned, struggling to untie the small bow at the top of his bag.

"That's just an urban legend." Kelly rolled her eyes. "And besides, the hotel cleans it all up as soon as we leave anyway."

With that, Donna and David emerged from the hotel lobby and made their way to their limo, ducking their heads to avoid the rice being thrown at them.

"So…" Brandon drifted off as they watched the limo pull away.

"So…" Kelly mimicked jokingly. "Where are you staying?"

"Bren and I are sharing a room at the Beverly Royale. Since we booked so last minute, they only had one left."

"Oh, Cozy…" she teased. "You know… Now that Donna has moved all of her stuff to David's house, there's an extra room at the beach apartment if you'd like to stay in it." She offered with a sexy grin.

"An extra room, huh?" Brandon pondered for a moment, going back and forth in his head about staying the night with Kelly. "What, may I ask, is wrong with yours?" He hinted flirtatiously.

Kelly let out a giggle. "Well, I have some stuff to take care of here. Janet and I need to make sure that all of the gifts and cards get brought back to David & Donna's house, and I need to give the vendors their checks." She explained. "Tell you what…" She continued, "You go back to the hotel, pick up your things, and I'll meet you back at the beach apartment in about an hour?"

"Works for me." Brandon agreed, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. "See you there."

~*~*~

Brenda watched silently out the window as the city passed by. Beverly Hills was beautiful, and she hadn't realized how much she missed the city that she had spent a majority of her high school years in. She leaned her head against the cool glass and turned the radio up.

Brandon snuck a cautious glance at his twin. It was obvious that whatever she and Dylan had talked about had not gone well, but he was not sure whether or not he should pry. Against his better judgment, he turned the volume control knob on the radio way down as he pulled up to a red light. Seizing the chance to take his eyes off of the road for more than a moment at a time, he looked Brenda up and down carefully. Her eyes were puffy, her hair disheveled, lips pursed tightly together, and her brow was furrowed, showing that she was lost deep in thought. Suddenly, she turned and looked over at him, catching him by complete surprise. He turned his eyes quickly back to the red light in front of them, hoping to avoid an angry explosive argument in which Brenda would undoubtedly accuse Brandon of staring at her and insist that there was nothing wrong with her. To his surprise, the explosion never came.

"Brandon?" She asked in a horse whisper.

"Yeah?" He turned his attention back to her.

"How…" She began, pausing as she managed to rid herself of the lump in her throat. "How do you know that it's a good idea to give things with Kelly another try?" She wrung her hands together anxiously awaiting her brother's answer.

"Do you want the truth?" He questioned her, as the light changed and he pressed the gas pedal gently. Brenda nodded in affirmation. "I don't." He continued as he shifted gears. "I just feel that there's a lot of unresolved feelings between the two of us and I feel like we owe it to ourselves and each other to see where it goes. I think I'm finally learning that there isn't always a guarantee on everything. Ya know?" He looked back over at her. "Why? What brought that up?"

Brenda pushed her head back into the headrest, looking up at the roof of the rental car. "I think Dylan wants to give things another shot between us."

"Really? I didn't get that vibe from him." Brandon joked sarcastically. Brenda scowled at Brandon and hit him playfully in the arm. "HEY! Careful, I'm driving here! Do you want to make it back to the hotel or not?" He teased.

"Brandon, I'm serious here, don't be such a smartass!" Brenda pouted. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, sometimes you just need to follow your instincts, Bren."

"I figured you'd say that. My instincts are confused when it comes to him. My heart says 'move back home and dive headfirst back in', but my head says 'keep your happy ass in London and as far away from Dylan McKay as possible'." She leaned her head back against the window and sighed. "Why can't I just get over him already?"

Brandon shot her an amused look. "I think you have the answer to your question right there." He laughed. "And besides, you keep telling me about all of the offers that you keep declining to do work out here, so you know you can get a job. You're wrapping up your current play. If you're going to give it another shot, I'd say now is the time to do it." He offered as he pulled the car up to the hotel's entrance. "You sure you're going to be alright on your own tonight?"

"Yeah." She nodded as she got out of the car. "I need some alone time to think anyway. I'll probably hang out in the bar and drown myself in margaritas until I have an epiphany about this whole Dylan mess."

"Ok, just do me a favor?" He half asked, half commanded, "Be careful." Brenda nodded the headed toward the bar while Brandon headed in the other direction toward the elevators to gather some belongings for his overnight stay at the Beach apartment.

~*~* ~

Brenda sat on her barstool, right elbow on the bar, her head slumped over into her right hand as she picked at the cocktail napkin that her drink was resting on with her left hand. As she pulled off little piece by little piece, a million thoughts of Dylan McKay ran through her head. 'Stay.' She thought as she picked one piece off. 'Go.' She thought as she picked off another. 'Stay… Go… Stay… Go…' she repeated as she got closer and closer to running out of exposed napkin. Suddenly, something drew her attention up from her little game. She looked up quickly, causing a wave of dizziness to wash over her, but she thought she saw Dylan walking into the bar. "It can't be…" She whispered under her breath, blinking a few times in hopes that her eyes were playing tricks on her. Upon coming to the quick realization that it was indeed him, she quickly turned around on her barstool and prayed that he hadn't seen her. She heard him order a beer from the bartender and pleaded with her body to slow the breathing down and remain calm so as not to give away her presence. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Bren?" Dylan asked unsurely. Brenda closed her eyes and took a deep breath in before turning to face him.

"Hey." She slurred with a half smile. Dylan took a glance at the bar top, taking note of the strawberry margarita placed atop a picked apart bar napkin, and about four empty glasses lined up beside it. He looked her up and down, taking note of the fact that in addition to her slurred speech, her head seemed to be too heavy for her to hold up and her movements were slow and jerky.

"Have you had all of those since you've gotten back from the wedding?" Concern thick in his voice.

"Yep." She flung her arm onto his shoulder. "I'm thhhheeeeeelebrating for my buuuuuudies Thavid and Thonna. I've.. I've mished dem all theesh years, yannow?"

"I know." Dylan grabbed onto her arm to steady her wobbly frame. "I guess you're staying here?"

"Weeeeeeelllllll… Not right here, shilly! Roooom eight sexy shoo." Brenda giggled.

"Mmmm hmmm." Dylan nodded, waving the bartender over. "Hey. What's your deal, man? She's wasted. And alone. Are you an idiot? I could have your ass locked up for serving her this much."

"Sorry, man. It's busy. I didn't notice." The bartender looked Brenda up and down as an amused smile crept across his lips.

"It's not F*CKING FUNNY!" Dylan shouted angrily. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times before coming to his senses. "Whatever man, just charge her tab to my room."

"Yes, Mr. McKay." The bartender obliged, after recovering his composure that had been rattled with Dylan's outburst.

Dylan turned his attention back to Brenda, who appeared to be half asleep on her barstool. "Dylan, I'm shleepy." She murmured, resting her head on his shoulder as he helped her up.

"I know Bren." He said as he gave up on assisting her with walking and picked her up over his shoulder.

Brenda watched as he pressed the button on the elevator. "That'sh not my floor, Dylan." She giggled.

"I'm bringing you up to my suite. I'll sleep on the couch. I just don't want you to be alone right now, ok."

"You dun have to shleep on the coush." She attempted to flirt as the elevator doors opened. "You can shleep wish me. It'sh not like it's nufin new."

"I don't think so, Bren" Dylan argued as he opened the door to the room, walked to the bedroom and placed her gently on the bed. He pulled down the covers, and eased her strappy heels off of her feet. He then proceeded to roll her onto her side and pulled the covers over her. As he was about to walk away, she cleared her throat.

"Wait." She grabbed onto his hand "Thanksh for takin care of mee. I love you."

Dylan smiled down at her. "I love you too, Bren." He placed a small kiss on her forehead. "Now get some rest." He instructed as he walked out into the living room.


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Sorry for the delay in between updates. Warning, the second "scene" of this is kind of a steamy one. Consider yourself warned. And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave me reviews. I love reviews. Even if it's just to tell me that you're reading. I also appreciate when typos and grammatical errors are pointed out to me so that I can fix them. I try to proofread before posting, but I miss things often. Enjoy!_

The morning sun streamed in through the small opening in the curtains, the beam of light landing squarely over Brenda's eyes. She fought to open one eye, quickly closing it in reaction to the unexpected brightness and pulling a crisp white pillow over her head. Inhaling deeply, she took in the scent of the fresh hotel linens and stretched her arms wide across the king sized bed. A wave of confusion washed over her at about the same time that the dull ache in her head turned into a throb. She groaned as she sat up in the bed and some of the previous night came back to her.

She looked around, running her fingers through her tangled black hair and trying to piece together the parts that were missing in her memory of the night before. She had left the wedding reception and gone to the bar to unwind a bit. Then Dylan had walked in. 'Dylan… Oh no.' She thought as a feeling of panic began to overcome her. She quickly pulled up the blankets, peering underneath of them cautiously, and let out a huge sigh of relief at the realization that she was still fully clothed. She continued to scan the room, taking notice that the other side of the bed was still neatly made, an obvious sign that Dylan had not slept in it the night before. A smile crept across Brenda's lips as she recalled Dylan's lack of housekeeping skills and her thoughts began to drift off to their ridiculous attempt at living together in high school. Suddenly, Dylan emerged from the bathroom with his brown hair dripping wet and a towel wrapped around his waist. When he noticed that Brenda was awake, he blushed slightly.

"Sorry" He mumbled, avoiding eye contact and disappearing into the walk in closet to pick out some clothes. Brenda slowly climbed out of the bed and shuffled across the room, leaning her back on the wall beside the closed door to the closet.

"What for?" She finally spoke. "It's your room. You should be able to shower at your leisure." The throbbing in her head got more intense and she cursed herself for getting out of bed.

"I just didn't think you'd be up yet." He explained as he pulled a pair of jeans on. "I left some advil on the nightstand with a glass of water for you. Did you see it?" Dylan shouted from inside of the closet causing Brenda to grimace as the loud volume vibrated through her pounding head. She gently massaged her temple with her fingertips and trudged back over to the nightstand.

"Thanks" She called back to him as she sat back down on the bed, shaking two of the pills into her hand and twisting the cap back onto the bottle. "So," She took a quick swing of water, popped the pills in her mouth and followed up with another gulp from the water glass. "What are your plans today?"

Dylan emerged from the closet with a pair of blue jeans and a white tee shirt on with a pair of socks in one hand, his sneakers in the other, with a plaid button up shirt draped over his arm. "Well, now that I know you're up, I plan to order up some room service while you explain to me why you were alone in a hotel bar, drunk out of your head last night." he raised an eyebrow at her as he sat down on a chair in the bedroom and began to put his socks and shoes on.

Brenda groaned an flopped back onto the bed. The impact of her head on the pillow causing pain to pulse through her forehead again. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly and clenched her jaw in reaction to the pain. "Can we talk about that later?" She pleaded, keeping her eyes shut and trying to will the headache away. "I feel like crap."

"You know, the more you think about how badly your head hurts, the worse it'll get." Dylan offered as he tried to contain his amusement at the situation. "Why don't you go take a warm shower?" He suggested.

Brenda gingerly sat back up in the bed and nodded her head slowly. She proceeded to make her way into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, making sure to lock it.

~*~*~

Kelly turned on the shower and shimmied out of the robe that she had on. She reached her hand around the shower curtain to test the water before stepping in and allowing the warm water to soak her hair and wash over her face. She thought back to the previous night and a smile crept across her lips as she poured some shampoo into her hands, lathering it up and rubbing it into her scalp with her fingertips. As she was rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, she felt a quick burst of cool air, and before she had a chance to think twice about it, she felt a body press against her, wrapping their arms around her tightly.

"You're sneaky." She giggled as she rinsed the rest of the shampoo from her hair and wiped the water from her eyes. "I didn't even hear you come in here." She commented, finally opening her eyes and looking up into Brandon's.

"Good to know. That'll come in handy when I'm burglarizing houses later tonight." Brandon joked, leaning in and kissing her gently on the neck, and trailing kisses down to her collar bone. "In the meantime, I figured you may need some assistance in here."

A small moan of pleasure slipped out of Kelly's mouth as she leaned her head in the opposite direction, granting him easier access to her neck. As he pulled his lips away, she lifted his chin and pulled him under the shower spray with her, kissing him deeply and allowing her hands to wander his naked body.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Brandon joked as he pulled away from her for a moment, lacing his fingers between hers.

"No, take that as a _hell yes._" She whispered in his ear, nibbling lightly on his earlobe.

~*~*~

Brenda stepped out of the shower , dried off her hair a bit, and wrapped one of the plush white robes around her small frame. After a quick scan of the luxurious bathroom, she realized that she had nothing to put on except the evening gown that she had worn the previous night. "Dylan?!" She called out as she cracked the door open slightly. Dylan appeared in front of the door with a tee shirt and a pair of boxer shorts in his hands, laughing at Brenda's attempt to keep him from seeing her. She shot him an evil glare and grabbed the clothes that he was holding out to her, mumbling a "Thanks" and shutting the door before dressing herself. A few seconds later, she swung the door back open and grabbed her purse from the chair it was sitting on, fishing a hair tie out and piling her hair in a sloppy bun nearly on the top of her head.

Dylan looked her up and down and burst into a fit of laughter. "What?" Brenda demanded as Dylan tried to catch his breath. "What is so funny?"

"It's…" He gasped for air. "It's just that…" He managed as he tried to regain his composure. "You hid behind the bathroom door because you had a robe on and wet hair, but you're completely fine with coming out here in my clothes, which, by the way, are way too big on you, with your hair in a rat's nest."

Brenda crossed her arms over her chest self consciously and felt her cheeks turning a dark shade of red. _Why am I embarrassed around him? This is Dylan. _she thought to herself.

Dylan took notice of her flushed cheeks and immediately felt bad. "I didn't mean that you look bad. I just thought it was funny that you were hiding from me a minute ago, and less than two minutes later, you're back to being comfortable around me." He tried to explain, but had a feeling he was doing no good. Taking two steps toward her, he lifted her chin up and looked into her eyes. "You're gorgeous." He told her sincerely. "In fact, I think you're even more gorgeous right now than you were when you were all 'done up' last night for the wedding." Brenda's cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red as she looked back down at the carpet. Dylan looked her over once more, fighting back the overwhelming urge he had to scoop her up, throw her down on the bed and make up for lost time. "Come on." He grabbed her hand, leading her toward the table. "I ordered up some breakfast. I figured you'd need some coffee, at the very least, for that hangover of yours."

Brenda looked over the spread of fresh fruit, and noticed two plates with metal lids on them, presumably their breakfasts, along with two mugs and a coffee pot. "Why are you so good to me?" She asked, looking up at Dylan, holding back tears.

"Truthfully?" He paused, receiving a nod from Brenda. "I don't even have to try. It just comes naturally with you. I guess after all the times you've saved me from myself and my demons, I just subconsciously try to make it up to you all the time." He noticed her frown a little bit at the thought that he was trying to pay her back for things she had done for him. "Not like that, Bren. That came out kind of wrong." He ran his hand through his hair. "Back before you moved away, you confessed to me, on more than one occasion, that you had never stopped loving me." Brenda nodded slowly, trying to understand where exactly he was going with all of this. "Well, I'm a little bit dense or something, and it took me a bit longer to realize that I never stopped loving you either. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, Brenda. And whether you're willing to give me another chance at being "with" you or not, I'm still always going to be here for you." Dylan grabbed onto both of her hands. "I love you."

"Oh, what the hell am I doing?" Brenda blurted out suddenly. Dylan looked at her with confusion evident in his eyes. "Why am I even bothering to try to fight this? I love you too." She confessed, pulling him in to her by his shirt and kissing him. She tugged his shirt over his head and began fiddling with the button at the top of his jeans when Dylan pulled away from her for a second.

"What about breakfast?" He asked innocently.

"Screw breakfast." She answered, pulling him in to a kiss and backing into the bedroom, both of them losing articles of clothing along the way.

_So? What do you think? Reviews, pleeeaaasseeeee??? _


	6. Chapter 6

Brenda stared up at the white ceiling, battling back and forth in her head between cuddling up beside Dylan and running out the door. Thoughts of all of the things that he had done in the past to hurt her alternated with memories of the incredibly romantic things he had done for her and of the times that he was her shoulder to lean on. Fuzzy images of the conversation between he, Kelly and herself in the park gave way to those of the spring dance. A smile crept across Brenda's lips at that memory. Their first time had been amazing, as had all of the times since. In fact, she had yet to find a lover that she connected with the way she did with Dylan. She felt Dylan turn on his side, draping his arm over her waist and inhaling deeply as he moved his face in closer to her head. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of him being so close to her again after all this time and thought back on their wonderful weekend in Baja. Dylan had tried to teach her to surf that weekend. He shared one of the most important things in his life with her. In fact, he seemed to share most of the most important things in his life with her. A small tear escaped her eye as she remembered how Jack's death brought them together after the whole Brenda/Dylan/Kelly fiasco and how he came to her in London after the death of his wife, Antonia.

All of a sudden, an unsettling feeling came over Brenda and a knot formed in the pit of her stomach. He always ran to her when something else was going wrong in his life. _Am I always his second choice?_ She thought to herself. _Why is he trying to get to me again? What happened between him and Kelly this time? _She gave in and let her thoughts run wild upon coming the realization that she had no idea when and how he and Kelly had broken up this time. _Maybe Kelly told him that she wanted Brandon back and he just settled on trying to win me back because he couldn't have her._ Brenda sat up abruptly in the bed.

"What's the matter?" Dylan sat up beside her, placing his hand on the small of her back.

"I… I can't…" She sputtered. "We can't … do this." She gestured by spreading her arms out over the bed. "This was a huge mistake." Brenda jumped out of the bed and pulled his boxers over her slim legs and fished the tee shirt that he had given her out from under the bed.

"A... mistake?" Dylan whispered, disappointment written all over his face.

"Yes. And one of epic proportion, at that." Brenda confirmed, pulling the shirt over her head and trying to gather up her belongings.

"Bren, Wait!" Dylan pleaded as she made her way to the front door. "Don't leave." He begged, throwing the sheets off of himself and yanking the jeans on that had been discarded on the floor about an hour prior. She turned around and looked at him, One hand on the door. She was half tempted to ignore her instincts and jump right back into the bed. Shaking the thought from her head, she spun back around.

"Goodbye Dylan." She whispered, her eyes full of tears, as the door closed behind her.

~*~*~

Brenda sat in a booth at the Peach Pit mashing at her cherry pie with her spoon and mixing it into the pool of melted ice cream that was getting bigger by the second. She heard the door chime and looked up briefly. She gave Steve a less than enthusiastic smile and a small wave and went back to disassembling the pie in front of her.

Brenda groaned inwardly as she noticed the sound of his footsteps approaching her. She was really in no mood to talk to anyone at that particular point in time and Steve had a knack for being able to piss her off at times.

"Hey" He greeted, taking note of the pinkish mess that Brenda was pushing around on her plate. "Mind if I join you?"

Brenda paused for a moment. She and Steve had never really been the closest of friends, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was up to something. She silently scolded herself for thinking such irrational thoughts, reasoning with herself that all of their petty tiffs about Laura and other nonsense had happened a long time ago. Hell, they hadn't even seen each other in six years before they had exchanged 'Hellos' at the wedding the previous night. Brenda shook her head, not lifting her eyes from her plate. "No, of course not. Take a seat."

"So," Steve began, sitting opposite her in the booth. "It's been a while, huh?" Brenda nodded, scooping a bit of her puddle of pie and melted ice cream into her mouth. "How have you been? We didn't get to talk much last night." He continued to try to make small talk.

"Eh. Professionally, things are fantastic. I've got to head back to London in a few days to wrap up the play I've been working on, but then I come home to shoot a movie." She looked up at him for the first time since he sat down. Her eyes were puffy and pink, and her cheeks were flushed a light pink.

"So, I'm guessing it's the "personal" part that has you upset? Or are those remnants of the tears of joy that you couldn't help spilling when you decided to come back to good old Beverly Hills?" He prodded gently, though he was pretty sure it had something to do with Dylan and his antics the previous night.

Brenda smiled and nodded slowly. "That easy to read, huh? I think I need to go back to some acting lessons. I'm obviously not very good anymore." She joked, causing Steve to laugh. Placing her spoon down on her plate, she looked up at Steve and changed her expression to a more serious one. "What is his _deal_ anyway?" She huffed. "Does he think that he can just come running back to me every time something doesn't work out for him? And why is it that I let him keep doing it? You'd think I'd learn by now." She vented.

"Listen, Brenda…" Steve looked her straight in the eye. "I don't think that it's so much that he runs to you because things don't work out, as it is that things don't work out because he runs to you."

Brenda thought for a minute. "Right." She spat sarcastically. "He and Kelly split up before I moved to London, and what do I do? I head straight for his house. Like some lost puppy dog. Then after Antonia died, he came running to me like I was the next best thing. And now… Well, whatever happened between him and Kelly, apparently is over. So he interrupts David and Donna's _wedding _in some pathetic attempt to win me back again?" She sighed. "I'm just… Over it."

"Ok, first of all, as much as you try to deny it, the reason he and Kelly didn't work out all those years ago was because of the feelings he had for you. Think about it for a minute, Brenda. Who did he come to for comfort when he thought Jack died? Who did he sit with at the funeral? Who came and got you in Palm Springs that night? Who bailed you out of jail? Who's house did he end up at for _every_ holiday. All while he was 'dating' Kelly. Face it, Bren. Kelly never had a chance. And every one of us saw it. Except for the three of you." Steve said, quite bluntly. "And, as far as Toni goes… Well, she's the only person I've ever met, besides you of course, that could keep Dylan in control of his life. I think that's why he fell for her so hard and so fast. She reminded him of you. When you stayed in London, he fell apart. He met her and she was the next best thing to you, not the other way around. I've been told that he didn't even have the guts to tell you when he was getting married." Brenda nodded slowly. "And this last time, They were together for a few days before they both realized that they each loved their own Walsh twin and not each other. Face it, Bren. You've never been the 'next best thing' where Dylan McKay is concerned."

With that, Steve stood up, gave her a pat on the shoulder and picked up his to-go order from Nat at the counter. Brenda stared at him, completely speechless, as she tried to figure out what had just happened. _Was Steve Sanders just trying to help someone besides himself? Wow. I guess miracles really do happen._ She could tell that Steve was obviously trying to be helpful, but honestly, he had just made this even more difficult on her. It was easier for her to just walk away from it all. She had finally begun to get used to the idea of being without Dylan again when he swooped back into her life. Just like the last time. They had way too much history to ever be a "normal" couple. But was "normal" what she even wanted?

~*~*~

"Brandon! Stop!" Kelly squealed, jumping out of the way of the muddy beach sand that Brandon was occasionally flicking over at her with his toes as they strolled down the beach.

"Why? Am I getting you dirty?" He taunted.

"Mmmhmm. And I don't appreciate it very much. I spent a lot of time making myself look pretty for you, and you're covering me all up with mud." She whined. Brandon looked at her with a mischievous grin and picked her up over his shoulder, running into the water. "PUT ME DOWN!!!" She screamed, kicking her legs wildly.

"Ok, If you say so." Brandon got to about waist high in the water and then threw her out into the ocean, laughing hysterically at his wit. As her head emerged from the water, he joked, "See, all clean. No more mud."

"Oh, you are _so_ in trouble." She warned, swimming back in to where he was standing and splashing water at him. The two playfully splashed for a few minutes when all of a sudden, Brandon stopped and grabbed onto Kelly's hands. He locked eyes with her for a few seconds before kissing her intensely.

"You are amazing." He breathed when their lips parted.

Kelly's cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she wrapped her arms around him. "You're pretty amazing, yourself."

Brandon enjoyed the embrace for a moment before pulling away slightly and placing his hands on her hips. "Let's get married."

"What?" Kelly stared at him in disbelief.

"You heard me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Kelly Taylor."

"Brandon…" She started to argue before he cut her off.

"No, don't answer yet. Just hear me out." He instructed. "I know this is crazy, but to be honest, we should have done this two years ago. We both just let our cold feet get in the way and then we were too proud to admit that we were wrong. So, why put it off any more?"

"Ok." Kelly agreed with a smile.

"No, don't say 'no' yet. Go home and think about it. Please?"

"Brandon…" Kelly interrupted.

"Just give it a few hours to settle in? Then give me an answer." He continued obliviously.

"I SAID YES!" Kelly shouted, grabbing onto both of his arms and shaking gently.

Brandon blinked a few times, allowing the information to process in his head. "Really?" He watched as Kelly nodded her head. "You really want to do this?" He asked again.

"Yeah." She looked into his eyes. "I really do."

_AN: I know the Steve/Brenda heart to heart is a bit weird, but honestly, Donna is on her honeymoon, Kelly is with Brandon, and well, Brenda obviously wasn't going to talk to Dylan. Plus, I kind of wanted to bring the two of them together as better friends. I really like the way Steve matured in the later seasons of the show, going from the 'spoiled rich kid' to the 'working for a living family man', and I wanted Brenda to see the change that had occurred in him. It also helped that he was pretty much a complete outsider to most of the K/D/B nonsense and could be written as impartial. ;-) As always, reviews (good, bad, indifferent, even anonymous) make me all warm and fuzzy inside. Knowing that I have readers makes me want to keep writing. _


	7. Chapter 7

"Could you possibly take any longer in the shower? We _are_ in a drought, you know?" Brandon teased as Kelly finally entered the kitchen the following morning.

"Ha ha" She retorted dryly, grabbing a box of cereal out of the cabinet, along with a bowl and a spoon, and setting it down on the counter in front of the empty bar stool. "So, what's on your agenda for the day, Mr. Walsh?" she inquired, taking a seat beside him and pouring her cereal into the bowl.

Brandon folded up the newspaper that he had been reading and placed it neatly on the counter. "Well, I was thinking that maybe we could go do some shopping once you're done with your breakfast, and then I was thinking that maybe we should go out for a nice dinner to celebrate?" He explained as Kelly reached for the milk and began to pour it.

"Shopping for what?" Kelly asked with a knowing smile.

"Oh I don't know…" Brandon drifted off. "groceries, shoes, you know… whatever." Kelly smacked him on the arm playfully. "Ok, ok, you caught me" He admitted. "I figured we could hit up some jewelry stores." Kelly's face lit up. "For my mom's birthday." he concluded. He watched as she tried to hide her disappointment and laughed out loud. "You are too easy to mess with, Kel. Of course we're going ring shopping."

Kelly jumped up out of her chair. "Ok, I'm done!" She yelped, pouring her cereal into the garbage and heading toward the front door.

Brandon shook his head and laughed at her eagerness as he grabbed his keys off of the key hook by the door and ushered Kelly out, shutting it behind him.

~*~*~

Dylan waded back in to the beach, surfboard tucked under his arm, as Val caught a glimpse of him. She offered him a smile and a wave and went back about the business of applying her sun block. He walked over to her and stuck his board in the sand, leaning on it with one arm.

"Hey, stranger! Long time, no talk." She greeted, shielding the sun from her eyes as she looked up at him from her blanket.

"Yeah. It's been a while, huh?" Dylan noted with a smile. "So…"

"Soo…" Val echoed.

"How have you been?" He asked, taking a seat beside her and staring out into the ocean.

"Actually," She started with a proud grin, "I think I've finally gotten my life together. I've started a new night club in the city. And it's really taking off. I've managed to keep my life pretty drama free for the past year or so, and it's nice. Things are finally falling into place, ya know?" Dylan nodded. "Now if only I could get my hands on a decent guy, things would really be great." She half joked. "How have things been going for you?"

Dylan groaned and leaned back on his elbows. "Same ol', same ol'. Get my life together, tear everything apart, get it back together, tear it apart. You know how I roll." He replied, his voice thick with sarcasm.

"Ahhh. Female troubles again, Dylan?" Val teased.

"It's more than that. I think I've finally realized what I want." He paused. "But I honestly think I may have damaged the relationship beyond repair this time."

"Oh, so it's Brenda troubles." she pinpointed.

Dylan nodded glumly. "I just don't know how to make her believe that I'm ready to finally deal with the feelings that I have for her."

"Deal with?" Val choked out. "Well, maybe avoiding terms like that one would be a step in the right direction…"

"No, no. It's not like that." He defended quickly.

"Well, what's it like then?" Val turned toward him, eager to see him try to talk his way out of the comment.

Dylan sat back up and began picking at a stray thread on the blanket. "Well, when we were kids, I just wasn't ready for the way I felt about Brenda. And Jim was no help either. I just couldn't deal with it. So I ran to Kelly, thinking it would be more fun and carefree. Less drama and intensity, ya know?" Val nodded politely, prodding him to go on. "And well… We all know how that worked out for me. I think my relationship with Kelly was even more dramatic than the one with Brenda. And not the good kind of drama either." He mumbled, stifling a laugh. "Then I thought we were going to give it another shot, and she never came back from London that summer."

"Yeah." Val thought back on her move to Beverly Hills, "You took that pretty rough."

"Then, after I lost Toni, I went to the one person that I could always count on. The one who understood me best." A tear rolled down his cheek as he recalled his brief marriage. "At first, we were just good friends. She was there for me, just like she was when I thought Jack had died. She was my rock. And our relationship slowly blossomed into a romantic one again. I thought I could handle it, but I just wasn't done grieving over Antonia yet." He looked down at his hands. "I was in rough shape. I started doing drugs, and I knew I didn't want her to see me like that."

"Ahhh." Val put the pieces together in her head. "That's when you disappeared on her."

"You knew about that??" Dylan looked up at her abruptly.

"Yeah. She called Brandon in hysterics when she got home from the theater that night and got your note. And I happened to speak with him the next day." Val shrugged as if it were no big deal.

"Remind me to thank Brandon and his big mouth next time I see him." Dylan mumbled under his breath. "So, as you know, then… I royally screwed things up this time. I doubt I'll ever get her to trust me enough to give it another shot."

Val inched a little closer to Dylan and draped her arm over his shoulder. "Well," She began, laying her head down on his arm, "I happen to remember how we got your mind off of a certain Brenda Walsh about 5 or so years ago." She flirted shamelessly, taking her free hand and rubbing it along his chest.

~*~*~

"Ohh! Brandon! Come over here! The one is STUNNING!" Kelly squealed from across the store. Brandon walked over to the case that she was pouring over and immediately knew which ring she was speaking of. There was a positively radiant princess cut engagement ring smack dab in the center of the case. It was set in platinum, The center stone appeared to be about 2.5 carats by his best estimate, and it was surrounded by a band of smaller princess cut stones.

"Would you like to try it on?" The clerk asked politely, unlocking the case from her side of the counter and sliding the glass out of the way.

"Oh, I don't know. It's too much. We're not looking for anything that big." Kelly hesitated, trying to hide the fact that she was dying to put that ring on her finger. Even if she knew she'd never own anything like it.

"It's ok. That's the fun of shopping." The clerk pointed out. "You get to try on anything you want and not worry about the price tag."

Kelly looked at Brandon as if she were waiting on his permission. He nodded carefully, and the saleswoman had the ring on Kelly's finger before she could think twice about it. Kelly slid it the rest of the way over her knuckle, amazed at the fact that the ring fit her petite fingers. Usually the samples were around a size 7, and would swim on her size 5 fingers. But this ring fit perfectly. She admired the way the light from overhead reflected off of the diamond and twisted her hand back and forth a bit.

After about a minute, she took the ring off of her finger, trying desperately to hide her disappointment. Brandon looked down at his feet and mumbled "I'm sorry Kel." He looked back up a her, his eyes filled with regret. "I really wish I could buy you that one."

Kelly smiled at him and kissed him gently. "Don't be silly." She answered. "I don't need a fancy ring to know how much you love me. I'll love whatever we pick out because it's a symbol for the love we share. Not because of how many carats it is or how much money it cost." She spoke genuinely.

The two looked at a few more rings before finally settling on a beautiful 1.25 carat princess cut solitaire. The saleswoman went to find the paperwork for the ring and have it cleaned and suggested that Brandon and Kelly look at some wedding bands a few cases over.

After a few minutes, she emerged with the jewelry bag in one hand and Brandon's credit card, a credit card slip, and a pen in the other. "If you could just sign this one for me, Mr. Walsh, you two will be all set." Brandon did as he was told, smiling politely at the woman behind the counter.

"Thank you so much for all of your help, Lynne!" Brandon gushed as he pushed the credit card slip back across the counter, laying the pen on top of it.

"You are most welcome! Congratulations to the two of you! I wish you all the best!" She waved as Brandon laced his fingers through Kelly's and escorted her out of the store.

A look of confusion washed across Kelly's face. "Wait a second. We never introduced ourselves to her. How did she know your name?"

Brandon laughed a little bit. "Kel, it's on my credit card. A lot of stores do that. They say it makes the transaction more personal or some such BS."

Kelly nodded. "That makes sense. Bu how did you know her name?"

"She was wearing a name tag. I cheated." Brandon admitted with a small chuckle. "Hungry?"

"FAMISHED!!" She answered, blushing a bit as her stomach growled.

"Good. We're going to stop by the apartment to get dressed, then we have a 5:30 reservation."

"Where at?" Kelly questioned innocently.

"It's a surprise. But you'll love it. I promise." Brandon answered cryptically.

_Reviews make me happy. :-) Pretty please?_


	8. Chapter 8

Dylan looked down uneasily at Valerie's hand on his chest and squirmed a bit. He had totally screwed up by opening up to her, and he really wasn't sure why he did it. It was completely unlike him to pour out his feelings like that, and he wasn't sure why he felt the need to open up to Val. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was because she had kind of taken Brenda's 'place' in the group all those years ago. Whatever the reason, he was now sure that he had given her the wrong impression of where the two of them currently stood as he sat on the beach trying to evaluate how to get himself out of this predicament.

"Look. Val." He began, turning his head to face her. "That was a long time ago. Things are different now."

"Oh, Are they?" Val was obviously not convinced. "How so? You're single, I'm single. I fail to see the problem." Val shrugged innocently. "It's not like Brenda is giving you any hope of rekindling your romance. Therefore, you're free to do as you'd please, no?" She said, resuming the light massage of Dylan's chest.

Dylan looked into her eyes, getting lost in their striking beauty. He brought his hand up to her cheek, running the back of his finger along her jaw line and tipping her chin upward with his index finger. He leaned into her slowly, closing his eyes, inhaling deeply and smiling as his nostrils filled of her scent. Dylan's eyes shot open and he quickly retracted his arm. He would recognize that scent anywhere. She was wearing Brenda's perfume.

"I can't do this." Dylan mumbled as he scrambled to his feet and grabbed his board. He walked away quickly, leaving Val a little dumbfounded and a lot frustrated.

~*~*~

Kelly stared intently at her reflection in the mirror in an attempt to figure out what was missing from her outfit. She tilted her head in a few different angles, checking out her eye makeup, and pressed her red lips together firmly. She did a quick once over of her dress, making sure that the black strapless minidress was hugging all of the right places and turned to be sure that there was no skin peeking out between the top of her dress and the bottom of her silver short sleeved shrug. As she fiddled with her necklace, it came to her suddenly. Earrings. How could she forget earrings? She quickly pulled out a pair of dangly silver ones and pushed them through the holes in her earlobes, fastening them in the back, before giving herself one last glance. Finally satisfied with her appearance, she began hunting for her strappy silver heels in the bottom of her closet.

She had found one and was in the process of locating the second when she heard a soft knock on the bedroom door.

"Kel?" Brandon inquired from the hallway.

"Yeah. I'm almost ready. Just a sec." She replied, throwing a black clog over her shoulder followed by a gym sneaker. "Yes!" She hissed under her breath as she retrieved the matching shoe from the closet, pulled it over her foot and secured the strap all in one fluid motion. As she stood back up, she smoothed her dress out one last time, took a deep breath and opened the bedroom door.

Brandon stood breathless for a moment before finally letting out a "Wow…" He looked her up and down slowly. "Kel… You look amazing." he said sincerely.

Kelly cheeks flushed a bit. "Thanks." She replied quietly, suddenly finding her shoes quite interesting. _Get it together, Kel. Why are you being so shy? _She silently reprimanded herself, forcing her eyes upward. She noticed Brandon's black dress shoes, followed by his black slacks and a royal blue shirt and tie. She bit her lip gently as she continued up to his face, looking deep into his blue eyes.

"You're not looking so bad yourself." She giggled, trying not to let him on to the fact that she was about ready to jump him right there in the hallway. "Ready?" She asked, taking a step forward and closing the bedroom door behind her.

Brandon nodded, pushed her against the door, and covered her lips with his. She let out a small moan as she wrapped both of her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. He gently caressed her thigh and began working his hand up to the hem of her dress. Kelly pulled away from him slowly, leaning her head back against the door behind her.

"We're going to miss our reservation if we don't stop." Kelly pointed out, trying to catch her breath.

"Yeah." Brandon agreed, somewhat dejectedly, sneaking in one last kiss to her neck. "We'll pick this up later." He continued with a wink as he grabbed her hand and led her toward the front door.

~*~*~

Brenda sighed and put the magazine down that she had been pretending to read. In reality, she was sitting in the hotel lobby, waiting for Dylan to walk through. After her talk with Steve, she felt like she was obligated to at least talk things through a bit with Dylan, but she certainly wasn't going to let him know that she was seeking him out by calling him or by showing up at his door. Thus, the reason she had spent the last three hours reading the same couple of articles in some trashy tabloid that had been left in the lobby.

She stretched her arms over her head and looked up at the clock by the front desk. After deciding that her conversation with Dylan was going to have to wait, Brenda stood up from the chair and made her way over to the elevators. As she pressed the up arrow, she noticed him entering the building out of the corner of her eye. Her heart started racing and her palms began to sweat. She wiped her palms on her denim skirt and tugged a bit on the hem of her fitted white tee shirt, hoping he wouldn't notice her attempt to "fix" herself up for him.

"Hey." He greeted cautiously as he approached the elevators.

"Hey." She smiled warmly as the elevator at the far end of the line began to open. "Going up?" She asked, making her way to the elevator and holding the door for him.

Dylan looked her up and down, taking note of how well her short skirt showed off her long trim legs. "Sure am." He nodded for emphasis as he stepped onto the elevator.

Brenda noticed the look he was giving her immediately, but tried to push it to the back of her mind. She pushed the button for her floor, followed by the button for Dylan's penthouse suite, then turned to look at him.

"I just want to let you know…" She looked down at her fingernails and began picking at them with her thumbnail. "That I'm sorry about yesterday morning." She glanced up into his eyes, waiting for his reaction.

"Which part? The sex? Or the Post-sex spaz out?" Dylan chuckled a bit.

"The freak out." Brenda answered quietly, leaning against the rail on the back of the elevator.

"So… No regrets about the rest, then huh?" Dylan raised his eyebrows slightly.

She knew that look. He always got to her with that look. "No. no regrets." She echoed, taking a step toward him. They locked eyes for a moment and no words needed to be said. Brenda inhaled, taking in his scent, as she stood just inches from the man she had so much history with. She looked him up and down quickly, in attempt to read his body language before giving in to her urges and pushing him against the wall of the elevator and kissing him forcefully.

As Dylan's back hit the wall, he felt something jab into the back of his thigh and suddenly the elevator came to a stop. Brenda pulled away slightly, eyes wide with fear, until Dylan began to laugh.

"What happened? Are we stuck?" Brenda's voice was on the verge of panic.

"No. You pushed me into the emergency stop button." He explained with an amused grin as he rubbed the somewhat sore spot on the back of his leg.

"So, what do we do?? How do we fix it??" She was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

"Well… We just pull this little red button back out." Dylan responded calmly, pointing out the button as Brenda let out a sigh of relief. "But.." he drifted off a bit, taking a step toward her and nibbling lightly on her ear. "Do you really want to leave just yet?" He continued as he pushed her back to the side wall of the elevator, lifting her up so that her butt was resting on the rail.

"Dylan…" Brenda protested, scanning the elevator for signs of a camera. "What if someone's watching?"

"Well, then…" He began thoughtfully, "they're about to get a good show." He moved his hand up her leg and under her skirt as she buried her face in his neck.

~*~*~

"The food here is amazing, Brandon." Kelly gushed, gently patting her mouth with her napkin before setting it in her dinner plate. "I can't believe that you were able to get a reservation. Especially on such short notice."

"Well, it pays to be a restaurant critic for the L.A. Times." Brandon shot her a wicked smile.

"You are *so* bad." She giggled, leaning across the table for a gentle kiss.

"Oh, dessert's here." Brandon nodded his head in the direction of the approaching waitress and leaned back into his seat. The woman placed a plate in front of each of them and Kelly noticed it immediately. Laid delicately in the midst of all of the chocolate shavings atop her tiramisu was *the* ring. The one that she had been drooling over in the store. The one that she was sure Brandon couldn't afford.

"Brandon…" She whispered when she was finally able to make her voice cooperate again. "You didn't… We… we didn't pick this one out…" She choked out as tears began to fall from her eyes. Suddenly, the confusion hit her. He hadn't left her since they had left the store. "When did you…"

"Trade the ring?" Brandon asked with a knowing smile. Kelly nodded, blinking back tears. "I didn't. I had already picked that one out for you. Lynne… you remember? The saleswoman? She switched up the rings when she took the one we 'chose' in the back to clean it." He explained, beaming with pride. "Well? Are you going to put it on, or what?"

Kelly's cheeks flushed a bright pink as she looked back down at the ring. She carefully pulled it off of the top of the dessert, liking the cream off of the band, and gently slid it onto her finger, turning her hand to admire the way the light reflected off of it differently from each angle.

"So…" Brandon began, pulling a few bills out of his wallet and laying them on the table. "You ready to get out of here and wrap up this celebration in private?"

Kelly nodded her head silently and stood up, taking his hand and leading him toward the door.

~*~*~

Brenda smoothed out her skirt and ran her fingers through her hair quickly as she tried to catch her breath. "That was so incredibly…" She drifted off, trying to think of a word that could effectively describe how she was feeling.

"Hot?" Dylan asked, attempting to straighten out his clothes as well.

"Yeah. That one works." Brenda answered, leaning in to him for a passionate open mouthed kiss. "Ready to get moving again? People are going to start to notice that this elevator isn't in service pretty soon."

"Eh." Dylan shrugged it off. "There are other elevators, and it's a slow time of day. In fact, I'm pretty sure we could even get a second round in if we wanted to." He offered suggestively, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Dylan!" She playfully swatted him on the shoulder. "I can't believe that even just happened. A second time is _not _an option." She insisted as she pulled the button back out and the elevator continued its journey up to Brenda's floor.

"Ok, well, then you'll just have to come and spend the night in my suite with me." Dylan raised his eyebrows at her as the doors opened on Brenda's floor.

"Actually, I can't." She looked down at the ground. "I have to pack."

"Oh." Dylan tried to hide his disappointment. "When do you go back?"

Brenda slid her hand out into the opening to hold the doors open. "Tomorrow morning. I need to be at the airport at 7 AM" She looked up into his eyes regretfully.

"Wow…" He paused. "Well, would you like a ride to the airport?" Dylan offered.

"Actually, yeah. I'd really like that." She agreed, taking a step out of the elevator. "I'll call you in the morning." She gave him a half wave as the doors shut between them.

"Yeah. See you then." He mumbled to himself after they closed.

~*~*~

_AN - Sorry about the long delay again. My laptop crashed on me and I lost everything. I was almost done with this chap when it happened, and I lost my outline for the rest of the story, so I had to re-do that, and then rewrite this entire chapter. I hope it was worth the wait for everyone. Leave me reviews and let me know what you think. ;-)_


End file.
